Shoe



v s.' J. ALLEN July 5 1927.

SHOE l Filed Dec. 20. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l vlllllllI P I INI/ENTR. 152502Z J/'Zlem,

m ATTORNEY Illlll|\l\\\\\\\l July 5 1927.

S. J. ALLEN SHOE Y Filed Dec. .20. 192s. 2 sheetsfsneet a 3 n. Mm.

T #A VM .B

Patented July 5,?1-927.

PATENT OFFICE.

SETON J. ELEM-or VINELAND, NEW JERSEY.

SHOE.

Application led December 20, 1926. Serial No. 155,848.

This invention relates to shoes, and more particularly to that type of shoe in which an arch supporter is combined with the structure of the shoe and forms a permanent part thereof, as distinguished from those structures in which the arch supporter is an entirely independent member, which vcan be placed Within the shoe, or which can be placed beneath the insole of the shoe and removed therefrom, as occasion may require, for the purposes-of furnishing the necessary support to the arch of the foot.

Heretofore, it has been extremely difficult,

if not impossible, to manufacture by ma.

chine shoes of the type described herein in quantity production, due to the thickening of thatportion of the shoewhich lies immediately under the arch of the foot, and if manufactured by machine, the operation on that portion of the shoe lying directly be- -neath the arch is so difficult and intricate as to make the operation extremely costly. It is yfor this reason that shoes embodying permanent arch supporting surfaces therein have been almost uniformly manufactured4 'by hand.

Furthermore, while the manufacture of shoes` having `permanent arch supporting surfaces therein is known in the art, I am not aware of anyshoe in which this arch supporting surface is so molded or formed both with reference to the longitudinal extent vvaswell as the transverse disposition of the arch supporting surface, that it conforms exactly and precisely to the bony structure of the human foot, and to this end the bony structure of the anatomy of the human .foot is briefly` described, `so that i the present invention may be more readily understood. v

The foot is composed of a multiplicity of relatively' small bones comprising the ankle bone, the heel, the tarsus, the

tures. An examination ofthis bony structure shows that an arch is produced not only 'longitudinally of the foot but also transversely. This is due to'the fact that the metatarsal bone of the big toe is much larger in diameter'tban the metatarsal bones of the other toes, and-that these metatarsal bones of the second, third, fourth and fifth toes are arranged in step formation, so that the metatarsal bones of the s toe and metatarsalA bones, the phalanges, and other bony Vstruconly bones that-are supported indirect conbones are likewise so arranged that a transverse recess is formed thereby.

'It is an object of the present invention to so form the arch supporting surface in the shoe that it will conform to and support both the tarsal and metatarsal bones of theA foot longitudinally and transversely thereof, and at the same time to conform to this recess formed by the arrangement of the lbones of the foot, so that. all danger of collapse of the bones supported by the arch supporter is eliminated. Further, in cases where the bones' have already fallen or are so weak as to need support, the present in' vention is intended to maintain these bones of the foot in proper position.

In carrying out this invention, I make use of a last with a concave or recessed portion in the lower surface thereof and apply thereto an insole which has been moistened, and mold this insole while in its moistened condition lto conform to the recess in the last. The particular last employed, however, is the subject matter of a separate aplication, and need not be ,described herein,

A1t being thought to be sufficient to give a Fig. 2 is a. bottom view of the insole employed in my shoe and illustrating the ap plication thereto of a patch;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on or'about the line 3-3 of Figure 1; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view; Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the insole with portions broken away so as to show the I p l ap lication of thel patch and shank thereto; the -metatarsal bone of the bigt `are the y Fig. 6 ista view showing the insole patch and shank in disassembled relation and in the order of application to the insole.

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view of the inner sole of a shoe taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 showing the elevation of the inner face of the insole at that section, A being the outer side of the shoe.

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional View of the inner sole of a shoe taken on line 8-8 of F ig.` 4 and Fig. 5 showing the elevation of the inner face of the insole at that section.

Fig. 9 is a cross sectional v-iew of the inner sole of a shoe taken on line 9-9 of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 showing the elevation of the inner face of the insole at that section, and indicating the angular disposition of this elevation at that section, in reference to a given plane.

a Fig. l0 is a cross sectional view of the inner sole of a shoe taken -on line 10-10 of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 showing the elevation `of the inner face of the inside at thatsection, and indicating the angular disposition of this elevation at that section, in reference to a iven plane. Y

ig. 11 is a cross sectional view of the inner sole of a shoe taken o'n line 11-11 of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 showinr the elevation of 35, ner sole of a shoe taken on line 12-12 of the inner face of Ithe inso e at that section, and indicating the angular disposition of' this elevation at that section, in reference to a given plane.

Fig. 12 is"a cross section view of the in- Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 showing the formation of the Vinsolfei'at that section and indicating the fact that' on that section line it is subst-antially parallel to a given plane surface and ap roximately fiat or level.

l eferring more particularly to the drawings, I have shown a shoe of the conventional type, with the exception of the structure immediately beneath the arch of the foot'and comprising an outer sole 1 of usual construction, and 2 represents the shoel upperv secured to the outer sole in any suitable fashion. In order to support the arch of V the foot 'I have provided an insole 3 of the channel type wherein the channels 4 extend completely around the sole and forrn means by which the upper is secured thereto. It is the usual practiceto form these channels so that the edges of the upper can*be sewed or otherwise secured thereto, and after this y operation is completed, the outer sole is fastened to the inner sole by means of stitching, tacks Vor any other .suitable securing members.A This insole is provided with a raised 'arch supporting surface 5 extending longi- -tudinally of the shoe, from a point sli htly to'the rear of the heel breast forward y'to a point approximately corresponding with the position of the ball of the foot when [placed in the shoe. Inother words, this near the heel portion ofthe foot and at itsk other end directly beneath the joint which connects the metatarsal boneswith'the phalanges. In this manner, a longitudinal support for thefoot is provided, and at the same time necessary 'transverse su port for the tarsal and metatarsal bones o the foot is formed, due tothe factthat the supporting surface on its lower side is 'concaved by being molded into the last and is given the configuration substantially as shown in the drawings, and in which this Supporting surface 5 is' shown as extending partially across the insole transversel thereof, and accordlngly it extends su stantially across the transverse arch formed by the bony structure of the foot.

Reference to Fig. 3 of the drawings 'in dicates the insole 3 providedwith the flange 4 and the raised supporting surface 5, and in this view is illustrated the particular con figuration of the supporting surface. It is to be seen that the forward portion 6 of the raised supporting surface 5 has an angle of inclination substantially the same as that of the outer sole or substantially parallel to the outer sole, but that the lrear portion 7 of the supporting surface 5 has a greater angle of inclination, which in effect imparts a twisted formation 'to the raised supporting surface 5, the greatest angle of inclination and the greatest convexity of said arch supporting slrrface. is at the intermediate portion there o Y It has been found in actual practice that the transverse arch formed by the bones of the,footis not constant from the forwardl ed of the metatarsal bones back to the an e bone, but that the arch formed by the metatarsal .bones has one angle of inclination while the arch formed by the tarsal bones has an inclination at a slightly greater angle.. Accordingly, in order to properly support the foot by a construction which corresponds in minute detail to the bony structure of the foot, I have provided the raised supporting surface 5, as shown here in, with the peculiar formation above described, which is believed to be absolutely essential to the proper supporting of the bones of the foot. Furthermore, the particular construction of the arch supporting surface as shown, clearly furnishes an exact tit with the arch of the foot at the inside thereof. It is believed, therefore, that the construction as set fort-h herein is essential to the proper supporting of the foot, although it is known that arch supports have been produced which are said to conformto the .bony structure ofthe human foot.

The insole, having been last in a moistened condition, and having placed upon the 1 'i the arch had the arch supporting portion 5 molded therein so as to glve the configurationv shown in F ig. 3, has applied thereto a patch 8,

which is of substantially the same configura! tion as the concaved lower side of thesupporting member 5, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. It is` to be noted that this patch 8 is of such proportions thatit is confined between the channels llon the 1n- Sole and that it in no way interferes with the channeling operation of the insole, nor with the Sewing of the shoe upper thereto'. I am aware of the fact that patches, so called, have been used for some time, and am not attempting to appropriate the idea broadly of using a patcli` but I believe myself to be the first to use a patch of the configuration set forth herein, and which 1s so proportioned that it is confined between the channels 4. By so proportioning this patch 8 that it in no way interferes with the channeling and` sewing "operations, I have succeeded in producingJ a structure which can be made entirely'by machinery, andwhich reduces the difficulty now eX- perienced iny sewing these channels to Athe upper of lthe shoe, due to the fact thatthe patch lies entirely withinnthe channels. It is thoughtthat it willi e readily understood that by confining this patch 8 within the channels 4, the shoe can be operated upon by machinery with the same facility as if the patch 8 were not present, and in .the same manner in which the ordinary shoe is now manufactured without arch supporting structures therein.

have provided a structure, therefore, which is .believed 'to answer all of the necessities of an arch support and at the same time have constructed a shoe which can be built in quantity production and by inachinery with ease and facility, and without increasing the cost of manufacture to any considerable extent, due to the fact that the stiffening or increase infthickness of that portion of the shoe lying immediately below or interferes with the ordinary machine `methods now employed ,in shoe manufacture.

4The patch 8 is rovid'ed with a narrow rear portion 8a which gradually diminishes in width, intermediate its ends, and at its forward end 8" flares outwardly to a Width greater than the rear portion 8, so that the broader forward end of the patch extends completely across the transverse arch of the foot formed by the metatarsal bones, and

it is to be further .understood that the rearA end 8L of the patch is comparatively thm but'gradually merges into a thickened forward end, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.v ,This formation maintains portion 5 at its. proper end. l

of the foot in no way obstructsv surface 5 with the arch supporting height at the forward- Abones at-the correct or normal angle of in- After the application of the patch to the concave lower face of the arch supporting surface 5 I then-secure to the insole a shank 9 comprising a relatively stiff member, which may be made of leather or other suitable material, which is suitably vreinforced or stiffened by means of a metalstrip l0 extending longitudinally thereof and projecting from the heel end to a slight degree and secured to the leather member in any suitable manner. This shank member 9 is so placed upon the patch 8 that the metal reinforcing member 10 lies between the shank 9 and the patch 8, thereby rigidly maintain- `ing and supporting both the patch and the varch supporting portion 5 so that-it is per-v manently maintained in its proper eleval,

tion and curvature.

After the application of the shank to the i insole, thatV portion of the shoe from the forward end of the shank to the toe of the shoe .is filled withVY a suitable composition filler 11, which is Well known in the art and need not be described in detail, and the outer sole is then applied and secured to the upper .and insole in any suitable manner.

- lt is to be noted that in the present construction that portion of the shoe immediately belowvthe arch of the foot consists of a laminated structure, comprising the louter sole, the shank, the patch, and the inhowever, the laminations constituting this arch supporting portion are Iall rigid 1n construction and form a solid permanent structure, which is highly desirable in shoes of the type described herein.

Thel patch 8 may be secured to the insole in any suitable'inanner, either by means of cement,'tacks, or other securing evices, and

the same s true of the shank 9. The securmg of these elements, hovgever, forms no part of the invention, and 1t 1s believed to be` immaterial what 'particular fastening means are employed. 1,

From the foregoing, itlwill be seen that I have provided a shoe which has an arch supporting surface similar in construction and configuration to' thel bony structure of the foot, and by providingy the supportingthereof than at the forward end, I provi e a s tructure that will support the metatarsal llO 125. a greater/angle of inclination 'i .transverselyA at the intermediate section clination, and also support the tarsal bones at their normal an le of inclination, which is slightly greater t an the angle of inclination of the metatarsal bones.

Furthermore, it will be seen that I provide a shoe that'can be easily and readily manufactured by means of shoe machinery which is in common use to-day, and that the cost of the manufacturing is materially reduced owing to the fact that it is unnecessary to channel the patch 8 since this patch lies or is confined between the'ch'ann'els and in this manner does not interfere with the channeling or sewing operations required to complete the shoe.

It is to be understood that the' arch suporting .portion 5 of the insole can be formed 1n any suitable manner, by means'of a last provided with a concave or hollowed bottom surface upon which the insole is placed when moistened, and I desire it to be understood that this arch supporting surface' may be formed bythe molding of the insole by itself, or `that the insole may be placed upon th'elast and the patch applied to the insole and the insole and patch both forced into the concave loweifsnrface of the last, to give the insole the raised supporting surface of the configuration described herein.

It is to be understood that the formation of the arch supporting surface which I pro-l vide in my shoe is such that it has a slightly convexed elevation above the inner surface ofthe inner sole at its forward end and a 'more sharply convexed and'more elevated formation at its intermediate section while near its rear end it is of a slighter convexity and elevation than at its front end or intermediate section and which rear end substantially merges with the level of the heel formation of the inner sole. It is also to be understood that the area and shape of the arch supporting surface as formed in my shoe is such that on the outer side of the inner sole or outer side of the shoe which would correspond to the outer side of the foot, it forms a marginal section which is` substantially at a levelof the uneleva'ted section of the inner surface of the inner sole,

which section bounds and determines the shape and extent of the elevated arch supporting surface on that side of the foot or inner sole. The position and extent of this marginal lsection Will be seen from Fig. 8.

While I havey illustrated the patch as applied to an insole of the channel type, I

desire it to be understood thatl do not limit myself to this particular type of insole, but can employ the same structure as shown herein in connection Awith .channeled or. any other type of insole, and I further desire to be understood as not limiting myself to any details of construction, but may modify the struct-ure vset forth erein within the scop'e of the claims hereunto appended.

I claim: I

l. In' a shoe, an inner sole provided with a convexly elevated and twisted section ar- {ranged therein to lit the metatarsal and longitudinal arches ofthe foot, said section extending from the ball of the foot substantially tothe heel thereof, said section having a slightly convexed elevation above the inner surface of the inner sole at its forward end, with a more sharply convexed and more elevated intermediate section, and which near its rear end is of 'a slighter convexity and elevation than at its front end yor intermediate section, and at which rear end substantially merges with the level of the heel formation of the' inner sole, the twist of said elevated section being such that it is higher for substantially its entire length on the inner side of the foot portion of the .inner sole than on the outersidel of the foot portion of the inner sole and which merges with said inner side formation.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

sEToN J. ALLEN.A 

